(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating car seat designed for the handicapped, more particularly, to aid disadvantaged passengers in entering and exiting a vehicle, further provides comfortable seating and reduces the size of a special rotating mechanism.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The government has cleared many spaces to patronize the elderly and the handicapped, allowing disabled bodies to use a number of public facilities. As a space where a seat is installed in a conventional car is small and there is a gap between the ground and the floorboard of a car, it is difficult for a disabled body to board a car, therefore there is a need for installation of equipment that may assist handicapped passengers to enter and exit a vehicle.
Referring to a Taiwanese patent, publication number 338022, titled A Conventional Rotating Car Seat relates to a type of rotating mechanism of a car seat, wherein a bottom side of a car seat has a rotating base seat assembled; a securing base seat is assembled on a base seat to support the rotating base plate. A ring shaped sliding track number 1 is assembled onto the rotating base seat, whereas a corresponding ring shaped sliding track number 2 assembled to secure the base seat. A protective resin loop is formed in between track number 1 and track number 2 interlinking them together. A track number 1 and track number 2 of a bottom seat is meshed together, allowing the bottom seat to rotate via a center point of the protective resin loop.
Referring to a French patent, application number 2776583, titled A Vehicle Seat with Base Pivoting on Vehicle Chair, which relates to rotating mechanism in a car seat, wherein a rotating unit is secured to a floorboard of a car and a car seat installed onto the rotating unit thereafter, allowing rotation from a set point in a car to exceed outside a car door.
The two aforesaid car seat rotating structure needs a large space for installation, and is more difficult to be installed into a narrow space of a small car.
Referring to a Japanese patent, registration number 2002-337577, titled A Car Seat Elevation Device, which relates to a new car seat rotating mechanism design, wherein a special incline-shaped sliding socket is assembled to a floorboard of a car and a moving rotator is assembled to a base plate of a car seat, whereby inserting the moving rotator into the incline-shaped guiding socket thereafter. The rotator rotates and declines down the incline-shaped guiding socket simultaneously, allowing movement to a designated position on the ground surface outside the vehicle. Although the space that is needed by the aforesaid mechanism is smaller, a stronger structure is needed, therefore more costly, and more complex to install.
Referring to a Japanese utility model, registration number 2002-065748, titled A Wheelchair Carrier Device for Car Use, which relates to a new car seat rotating mechanism, consisting of a rotating plate, a sliding plate, a linking arm, two turning rods, an eccentric axis and a sliding track etc. The rotating plate is assembled on an upper side of the sliding plate with the eccentric axis assembled in between. The sliding board is assembled to a floorboard of a car and is linked together by the sliding track, whereas to ends of the linking arm connects to the axis on the floorboard of a car, and the axis at an edge of the rotating plate respectively, in addition, the car seat is secured on an upper side of the rotating plate. As the rotating plate rotates out of the car door, also allows the sliding plate to slide forward, thus reduces the rotating space of the car seat.
Referring to a Japanese utility model, registration number 2003-127726, titled A Rotating Seat for Car Use, which relates to a new car seat rotating mechanism, comprising a rotating plate, a sliding plate, a connecting arm, a connecting rod, a centric axis, two thrust bearings and two rotating axis etc. The mechanism is much like that of the aforesaid Japanese utility model number 2002-065748, as the rotating plate rotates out of the car door, also allows the sliding plate to slide forward, thus reduces the rotating space of the car seat.
The aforesaid two Japanese utility mode, registration number 2002-065748 and 2003-127726 both use similar linking rods, allowing the movement of the sliding plate as a car seat rotates, thereby enabling the rotating plate to rotate out of the car door. The space needed is smaller than that of a secured-type rotating axis, and because the length of the linking rods are fixed, therefore the rotation of the car seat becomes fixed correspondingly and different space limitations of various cars, which results in reduced flexibility of the mechanism.
In conclusion, the aforementioned various patent designs, the rotating car seat of the secured-type rotating axis need larger spaces for installation, not suitable for installing in narrow spaces of the front seat of a small vehicles. The improved mechanism with the application of linking rods, which enables smaller installation spaces and suited for installation in the front seat of a car. Yet, the mechanism is more complex and the rotating car seat lacks flexibility.